Deportation Fears Impact California's Citrus Harvest
Immigration enforcement operations in parts of California are having a negative impact on farms across the state as a large percentage of workers who harvest various fruits and vegetables are not showing up for work.
The Sierra Sun Times reported the farm owned by Peter Belluomimi, a grower and packer of lemons, mandarin oranges, and navel oranges, recently had only five of 30 workers come to work. Those that are staying home are concerned about the immigration operations.
The lack of workers comes at a bad time for Belluomimi, who is in the midst of harvesting the three crops that end up on the shelves of grocers such as Kroger and Trader Joe’s.
While able to fill orders with items in cold storage, he said, “If this went on for a whole week instead of two or three days, it would start to have more of an impact on us.”
Jenny Holtermann, president of the Kern County Farm Bureau, in a statement to the Sierra Sun Times, said the success of (the) local agriculture industry depends on a stable and reliable workforce.
“At a time when many local farms are already facing labor shortages, disruptions like these adversely affect local agricultural production,” she said.
San Francisco NBC affiliate KNTV said the California Farm Bureau reported a large number of workers not showing up for work, which as halted the citrus harvest in the state’s Central Valley. Up to 55,000 migrant workers are needed in the region during harvest season.
